Jos. A Bank: Buy 1 suit, get the stock free?

Giving away all those suits, ties and shirts may be hurting profits at Jos. A Bank. The retailer said its fourth quarter was disappointing.

ZZ Top famously sang about how every girl is crazy for a sharp dressed man. That may be true. But those men apparently are not going to Jos. A Bank for their sartorial needs.

Shares of Jos. A Bank (JOSB), the men's formal wear retailer famous for big promotional discounts like buy 1 suit and get 2 suits free, plunged nearly 20% Monday after the company warned late Friday that its net income for 2012 could be 20% lower than 2011.

Jos. A Bank said that total sales would be up for the year but that the fourth quarter was disappointing. The company blamed, among other things, Superstorm Sandy, uncertainty about the presidential election and fiscal cliff and warm temperatures in November and December.

Traders and other investing experts on StockTwits were not buying it. They unleashed a series of sarcastic tweets about the company's poor outlook.

cjb
How does $JOSB blame Hurricane Sandy for a 20% drop in net income when 90% of their stores are outside of the tri-state area?

KidDynamiteBlog
hey guys - don't worry - $JOSB is in good shape - it was just the distraction of the presidential election that hurt earnings... (/sarc)

It seems that concerns about the Mayan apocalypse on December 21 and excitement about the Kim Kardashian/Kanye West baby were the only excuses missing from the warning.

Herb is right to remind us that the earnings warning took place on a Friday. That is a particularly strange time to release news. And it's silly that the company chose to do it then.

In a world where information is easily accessible, nobody is going to conveniently miss your bad news just because you tried to bury it on a Friday night. Did Jos. A Bank honestly think that investors would forget by Monday morning? For shame!

crosshairtrader
@ReformedBroker I just told salesman I wanted 3 free suits after buying 1 at regular $. He said I could have shirt off his back too $JOSB

Ha! How could those wacky promotions not eat into their bottom line? Buy one suit ... and get this brand new Tesla Model S electric car free!

Macke$JOSB is purely a trading play. It's impossible to make a fundamental case one way or the other when the company itself has no idea

It is pretty shocking how clueless the company seems about its outlook right now. But maybe investors can look forward to a potential bump in sales this year from fans of heavy metal band Megadeth?

Megadeth lead singer Dave Mustaine posted an inspired rant on Facebook late last year complaining about how long it took for Men's Wearhouse (MW) to deliver a gift card Mustaine bought for the band's tour manager. Mustaine even wrote the following in his status update: "I would strongly recommend you wear someone else's suits. Go to Jos. A Bank instead."

Up until Monday's big stock drop, Jos A. Bank shares were pretty much moving in tandem with Men's Wearhouse stock. But it's now lagging behind.

So maybe Jos A. Bank should try and capitalize on the Megadeth endorsement and reach out to Mustaine. Megadeth could even record a new version of its hit song Hangar 18 about aliens from "Rust in Peace" for Jos A. Bank commercials and change the name to Hanger 18. (I know too much!)

Paul R. La Monica is an assistant managing editor at CNNMoney. He is the author of the site's daily column, The Buzz, and also tweets throughout the day about the markets and economy @LaMonicaBuzz. La Monica also oversees the site's economic, markets and technology coverage.